This small book written from a jehovahs witness group in 2005 is a bible study. Today, the worlds most translated book is the bible. The worlds most translated books the translation company. To celebrate world book day weve created an infographic that takes a look at 50 of the worlds most translated books, from the alchemist first published in portuguese to wolf totem mandarin. With 17 million copies produced in 49 different language editions, its likely the readers di. But if these books are to be enjoyed all around the world they need to be translated into different languages first. I would never have guessed that the jehovahs witness website would outrank all others, they cover more languages than most of the big players combined. Jun 11, 2014 the 20 most translated texts in history the content in this article is compiled from data and does not reflect ingco internationals opinions or views. Top ten translated books of all time lintelligence artificielle. Are you looking for a book written in your target language. Without doubt, the bible is the most translated book ever. Nov 22, 2017 don quixote by miguel cervantes, translated by edith grossman spain, 1615.
There are many who would name the bible as the most translated book of all time and technically they would be correct according to some historians and experts. To celebrate world book day weve created an infographic that takes a look at 50 of the worlds most translated books, from the alchemist first. Five most translated books of the world languageoasis blog. The watchtower is published from the christian religion of jehovahs witnesses jehovah is gods name, according to the bible and jehovahs witnesses are christians, followers of jesus christ. According to their data worlds top translated authors page on the. While the most translated website and the most translated book in the world are both religious in their nature, the most translated author is, surprisingly, nothing to do with religion. The most popular novel on this list was spanish novel don quixote which came in at fourth place with 500m copies sold, followed by j. We have found and listed 20 of the most translated texts throughout history. Most published and widely translated magazines in the world. A certified translation of books is not generally needed, but literature is still very close to our hearts. The new testament is available in 2,191 languages, while the old and new testaments together can be read in 670 languages.
Most translated books best, greatest of everything. Learning a new language with the worlds most famous books. Agatha christie is reputably known throughout the world as the queen of crime. Most translators know that the bible is the most translated book ever. More copies have been distributed of the bible than of any other book. A survey by the bible society concluded that around 2. The rest of the books on the most widely read list. According to ingco international, a translation agency, the most translated book in the world is the bible. The bible has also been translated more times, and into more languages, than any other book. The most translated books in the world have a lot in common.
The worlds ten most translated authors translation excellence. I would never have guessed that the jehovahs witness website would outrank all others, they cover more languages than. This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. Check out this slide show and you might just be surprised to see some familiar books, including one written by a seventhday adventist. Overview the run down from 20 to 1 uses the unesco index translationum database, which categories novels, plays, magazines and other literary forms by the amount of languages they have been translated into. The entire book is available in554 languages, which is more than any other book. However, what they dont know is that the number of bible translations. This is a list of literary works including novels, plays, series, collections of poems or short stories, and essays and other forms of literary nonfiction sorted by the number of languages they have been translated into. What are the most widely translated and distributed magazines. T he guinness book of world records claims that the author of the worlds most translated book is none other than science fiction author l. Feb 15, 2019 the bible it should come as no surprise that the christian bible is the most widely translated book in the world. Watchtower and awake, the most published and widely.
Leaving religion aside, the most translated book in the world is. During the 20th century he was one of the most widely translated u. The bible remains the worlds most translated book, with at least one book now available in a staggering 3,312 languages. What is the most widely read book in the world answers. Quotations from the works of mao tsetung is the second most widely read book in the world. Top 10 most read books in the world based on number of books printed and sold over the last 50 years. Wow that is amazing and quite surprising at the same time. This statistic shows the most widely translated books from finland as of 2018. Some titles may have had more copies printed than some of these books, but a vast number of those books were not sold, so well assume that they did not get read.
At least one book of the bible has been translated into 2,883 languages. Andersens andersens fairy tales have also been widely translated. The 20 most translated texts in history ingco international. It is estimated to sell over 100 million copies worldwide each year, and it has been translated into 469 different languages.
Most translated books best, greatest of everything ranked. The bible is also the most widely translated book in history. Over the last year and a half we read some of narnia, most of. As of june 2017, the series has been translated into 80 languages, 10 placing harry potter among historys most translated literary works. She also has the honor of being the most widely translated author. And where would the world of books be without translation and interpretation. That they are widely available in multiple languages means that more language students can. The first novel in the series, harry potter and the philosophers stone, has sold in excess of 120 million copies, making it one of the bestselling books of all time. But harry did make the list of most translated books in the world. This slideshow will look at the 20 most translated books in the world. The watchtower has a circulation of more as 61 million. I also went back to reading to both my kids at night. In the united states, 55% of survey respondents who read the bible reported using the king james version in 2014, followed by 19% for the new international version, with other versions used by fewer than 10%. The new revised standard version is the version most commonly preferred by biblical scholars.
There have been 820 million copies sold in the last 50 years. The watchtower public edition is the most widely circulated magazine on earth. There are plenty of famous works which the englishspeaking world would never have known about without the presence of a translator or. The worlds most widely distributed book watchtower online. With 469 translations, its easily the most translated text in human history. The most important book in christianity, the bible is the most widely translated book in history. Both magazines are published by jehovahs witnesses and are distributed in 236 lands.
I worked on several things, i moved all our books out into the living room from our bedrooms, their books and my books are all in one spot on a big shelf. Published by the jehovahs witnesses, 62 million copies of the watchtower are circulated in more than 300 languages. Jul 27, 2016 while the most translated website and the most translated book in the world are both religious in their nature, the most translated author is, surprisingly, nothing to do with religion. Dw set out to prepare a list of interesting germanlanguage novels and stories published since 1900 that have been. The 20 most translated texts in history 1 the bible 2 the adventures of pinocchio the story of pinocchio takes place in a small italian village where a woodcarver, by the. The guinness book of records cites her as the second bestselling author of all time, after william shakespeare.
The watchtower has a circulation larger than any other magazine in the world. See 6 authoritative translations of widely in spanish with example sentences, phrases and audio pronunciations. Even more impressive, parts of the bible have been translated into 2,932 languages. The watchtower is translated into more than 190 languages, and awake. The worlds most translated books leopold classic library. Unsurprisingly, childrens books and fairy tales dominate the list of the most translated books throughout history. List of literary works by number of translations wikipedia. The top 10 most translated books in the world eurotrad. Harry potter iswedged right there between pippi longstocking and the book of mormon. Lots of em have been printed through the centuries, but you may be surprised about which ones have been translated the most. Thankfully, we can easily find some of the worlds most popular books translated into numerous languages around the world.
Oh, just some old novels youve probably heard a thing or two about. Even if these figures are now a little dated, a visit to an american bookstore confirms that there is a need to. Although it is impossible to obtain exact figures, there is little doubt that the bible is the worlds bestselling and most widely distributed book. The most translated books in human history quicksilver translate. Sep 22, 2016 her books have been translated into at least 103 languages. Rowlings harry potter series at fifth place with 450m copies. The alltime most popular books in the world revealed. Each issue has a print run of more than 42 million copies. Agatha christie is beloved by all those with a taste for mystery novels. Strangely, noone so far has mentioned the unescos index translationum. However, unknown to many is that the number of bible translations varies depending.
What are the most widely translated and distributed. The book that was translated to most languages, 59 in total, was the book kalevala written by elias lonnrot. Over 90 percent of the human family have access to at least part of the bible in their own language. Unlike the other magazines mentioned here, the watchtower and awake. Spanishdict is the worlds most popular spanishenglish dictionary, translation, and learning website. Besides having been translated into 469 languages, the bible is the most read and sold. The worlds ten most translated authors translation.
The complete bible or portions of it have been translated into more than 2,100 languages and dialects. Religious texts have the greatest readership and distribution, with the holy bible, quran, book of mormon, and steps to christ dominating the lists. If you look at the note at the bottom of the infographic, you can see that jehovahs witness texts are also widely translated and distributed across the world. Of course we are happy to help you translate your book or document into. By comparison, readers digest is published in 21 languages, though content varies from country to country. The book has been adapted into over 240 languages worldwide, according to extensive research done by the fondazione nazionale carlo collodi in the late 1990s based on unesco sources. So, the most authentic book translated into the most number of languages, is the thirukkurrall, making thiruvalluvar naayanaar the most translated author as well.